Thicker Than Wood
by Wolf in a Mask
Summary: A wolf appears trying to kill Winston, declaring revenge. After Kate saves him it is revealed the wolf was not some wolf from another pack. But from their own pack. "It's a little too late to say that you're sorry now..."
1. A Run, Fight and Tear

**A Run, Fight and Tear**

The time was winter of freezing cold of frost and ice as far as the eye could see. It was the time of when food was scarce and wolves were cranky. Kate and Garth's team always managed to bring something back but shares had to be limited for everyone for they did not know when they would be able to hunt and catch more food.

Watching over his pack, Winston stood in the bitter cold like he always did even though he was now retired. Nose and paws freezing cold, the cold was getting to him and he didn't want to turn in just yet. He wouldn't be able to sleep this early. A hard run will warm my body up and make me tire surely, Winston thought stepping off the small cliff of his den. Reaching the bottom where the snow was deep, Winston marched forwards.

"Dad?" Kate's voice spoke from behind him.

"What is it, Kate?" asked Winston, turning around to face his daughter.

"Where are you going?" she questioned.

"Just for a simple run. I'll be right back," replied Winston, resuming to walk into the trees.

"Do you want some company?" Kate asked when he was almost about to disappear.

Winston stopped and thought for a moment. Did he want the company of his daughter? Clearly she was worried about him but he was still strong.

"Uh, no," said Winston, shaking his head. "I'll be just fine."

"What about Humphrey? He'll go with you."

"What?" exclaimed Humphrey's voice back at the den, sounding defiant.

Winston chuckled a little. His paws were beginning to freeze more, he was beginning to have trouble keeping all four paws on the ground.

"I appreciate it but I will be just fine," assured Winston, picking his paws up and started running through the snow.

Journeying into forest, sprinting his paws hard against the snow, Winston was doing his best to keep going. Fighting against the harsh time of winter. Getting as far as about two kilometers, he found himself in a clear field with a trail of hoof tracks providing an easy and perfect path to run through. Feeling a little worn out, Winston decided to hit the end of the field's smooth path and then return home.

Resuming his run, his muscles were screaming as he was drawing to the end so he eased up as finished his challenge. Panting heavily, Winston laid down on the ground to catch his breath and licked his paws to help warm them up.

_Snap!_

Raising his head, perking his ears up, Winston looked behind himself. There was no one in sight but that didn't mean he was alone. A forest is full of enemies. Slowly getting back up to his feet with his eyes watching his back, Winston gently moved back onto the clear path. Suddenly his eyes detected movement in the bushes; something coming forward. Then it came right in front of Winston's eyes: a teen aged Gray wolf covered in snow, walking with it's head down and it's right ear missing. Winston kept his ground and growled lowly to show he was not afraid of this stranger.

The Gray wolf raised it's head up, revealing angry, dark brown eyes and a deep scar slashed across his face. A deep voice came growling from his muzzle, _"You! I've been waiting for when you would come out alone!" _

"Who are you?" demanded Winston in a fierce voice.

Without warning, the young wolf pounced onto him. Rolling in the deep part of the snow, the Gray wolf came out on top; his massive paws over Winston's throat.

_"What's the matter, Winston?" _snarled the Gray wolf, growling in his face._ "You don't recognize your own son? You left me to die in that frozen wasteland!"_

"William?" spoke Winston, losing the fight inside him as he met eyes with the wolf.

The Gray wolf growled more angrily, _"YOU SENT ME TO A FROZEN HELL, WINSTON! I'm here to return the favor!"_

Opening his jaws wide, the wolf went to bite his teeth around Winston's throat. Bracing himself for the bite to come, the weight of the wolf abruptly toppled off of him as a golden blur came crashing into him.

"Come on, Dad!" urged Kate, nudging at her father's side to help him. "Get up!"

"Kate..." breathed Winston, struggling to get up, "don't-"

The Gray wolf came charging right into Kate and pounced on her just like he did Winston.

_"I trusted you!"_ snarled the wolf, into Kate's face. _"But then... you were always his favorite."_

"What are you talking about?" demanded Kate, kicking him off. "Who are you?"

The question made the wolf angrier. His response was a quick dart to Kate and tackling her. Venom in each others eyes, the Gray wolf headbutted Kate hard making her shout in pain and roll away. The wolf returned his focus on Winston.

_"Time to die, old fool!"_ stated the Gray wolf to the hurt and worn out Winston.

Striking a paw across his face, leaving a deep cut, the wolf showed no mercy as he put his paw over Winston's throat again. Sharp teeth being shown again, promising to strike, Kate came and jumped on the wolf's back and sunk her teeth into the side of his neck. Howling in pain, the wolf stumbled away from Winston and collapsed on to the tree, holding a paw to his neck as blood came pouring out.

Kate advanced on him, ready to deliver the final kill.

"Kate! Don't!" yelled Winston, limping over to her.

"What do you mean?" demanded Kate. "I can finish him!"

"Just help me up!" requested Winston.

Kate hesitated for a second. Turning to look back at the wounded wolf, she saw he was already starting to fall back into the woods as fast as he could. Raged at the fact that Winston basically ordered to let the wolf go, she went to help Winston up to guide him back home.

"Dad, who was that?" questioned Kate. "What did he mean when he said he trusted me?"

Winston took several deep breaths as he half-leaned Kate to walk. Supposing he couldn't hide the truth from Kate or Lilly now, he cleared his throat and answered.

"That... that was... that was your brother, William."

Kate had a look of confusion on her face as she responded, "But you told us that William died back in Alpha school! You said you saw him die before your eyes! What's going on, Dad?" demanded Kate.

"Kate... do you recall your brother's nature? His behaviour and attitude?" asked Winston.

Kate thought deeply for a moment, remembering that William always was rude, quick to hit first, arrogant, rough and liked to make cruel insults but he was her brother. Kate took the news pretty hard when Winston came to tell her he died in a hunting test.

"He was insane, Kate. Me and your mother thought we could help him in Alpha school but it just turned him into a monster. He was growing up to be an insane Alpha! Once he learned that you were going to run the pack, he went mad. He wanted to overthrow you as Head Alpha as soon as we were to return home. Me and your mother couldn't let that happen and we couldn't kill him. So I took him far away from our location and abandoned him."

Kate gasped.

"How could you?"

"He would have killed you, Kate!" stated Winston. "It's why I wanted you to marry Garth and unite the packs! In case he would come back you would be surrounded by wolves willing to die to protect you! ... I knew this day would come... I'm sorry I never told you or Lilly this. But you were both too young to understand."

Kate curtly nodded but inside of her a fire was brewing. Another secret behind her back that was forced open to her eyes? Another lie! Kate held back the things she wanted to shout and yell at her father but he was too much a critical condition for it. So she kept silent as she helped him back into the territory. Looking back over her shoulder, a long, loud and angry howl erupted from a long distance away.

A single tear came leaking out of one her eyes as she remembered William's appearance of the one she fought: an ear that must have been frozen off from the cold and a scar slashed across his face. What kind of hell did he face? She wondered. What things did he have to do to survive? Inside her mind the words echoed, '_I trusted you!' _

_I'm sorry... my brother._


	2. Digging Up a Cold Memory

**Digging Up a Cold Memory**

Storming inside a wide cave with his neck still bleeding, the one eared wolf, William laid down on the floor of his den. Frost covered around his fur, the bite would was stinging and the cold was making it worse. Added into the mix, the failed attempt to score his revenge was making his blood pound inside his head; wasn't the type of family reunion he had planned to have with his father or sister.

"Peek-a-boo! I see you!" a scary voice spoke out, and laughed loudly.

William didn't need to look around as he easily knew who the voice belonged to. At the entrance of the cave, a big, fat wolf stood there with a wicked smile over his face. He growled lowly as the wolf came up to him laughing but didn't attack.

"What's the matter big guy? Miss your shot on killing big daddy? Two years of waiting and you screw up?" asked the fat wolf evilly. Laughing more, he began to hit him around his body with his large paw as he added words of insults. "You stupid, little, twisted, deformed, idiotic-"

WHAP!

William had slapped a paw back at the obese wolf sending him back with a painful, "Oof!"

"You still got the fire in your mind, heart and body still," smirked the fat wolf, ignoring the fact he struck him hard, he went up to him and wrapped a paw over him. "That's good. You're gonna need that to kill them all. Two things went wrong though: you got hurt and messed up. Now they all know you're alive and back which means they're all gonna be on major alert. In the meantime heal fast because you're going back there."

"Why all of them?" questioned William, barely sounding interested.

"Why do you always have to ask why?" barked the fat wolf crossly, slamming a paw onto the ground. "For two fucking years, I had to listen to your questions in your little, scary deep voice: Why are you helping me? Why should I kill all of them? Why can't I kill Winston now? Why didn't you tell me this was going to hurt? Just do what the boss tells you and you'll still be getting what you want! Need I remind you that it was the boss who gave you your life back?"

The wolf tapped at his head.

"Dig deep! Remember you owe her."

_William closed his eyes as the memory of his young body freezing to death in the forest. His paws and body so deep in the snow, he could barely move through the blizzard. Ears so cold they felt like they were on fire._

_"Father!" called William loudly. "Father, where are you? Father! Please!"_

_A long had passed as he continued to trudge through the snow with no answer. No matter how long or loud he howled for his father, mother or sister to help him. Sadness was welling up inside of him as he began to whine. Believing he was going to freeze to death in this cold darkness, William curled up as tight as he could, sadly hoping death would soon come and embrace him. It was obvious to him now; his father had ditched him. His parents clearly loved his sisters betters. Kate the most..._

_Falling asleep in the snow, not expecting to wake up, William woke up inside of a warm den. A full grown Timber wolf had herself wrapped around him to help keep him warm. His ears feeling numb, he reached a paw up to rub them and felt one was missing! Gone forever._

_"Well look at was left in the freezer too long," chuckled a mean voice. _

_William looked over to see the fat wolf standing at the front of the den, smiling in a funny way._

_"OUT!" barked the Timber wolf._

_In his usual laugh, the fat wolf departed. Then the Timber gently brought William's face to focus on hers._

_"Here's the deal: I saved your life. If it wasn't for me, you would have been nothing but frozen dead meat so now your life belongs to me. If you say no, you will go back to being dead meat, only you won't be served cold. Do you understand?"_

_William at first thought of biting her paw to show he belonged to nobody now. But surely she might kill him for it and the blizzard was still happening outside, still dark. His father was surely out there somewhere but as far as he was concerned that wolf no longer loved him._

_William nodded his head._

_"Good," smiled the Timber wolf, bringing him closer to her. "Now tell me where you come from. I wish to know everything."_

_In anger and hate, William didn't hesitate to answer every question. All that remained on his mind now was loyalty to the wolf before him. And as the time went by she returned the loyalty; she fed him, protected him, trained him and if necessary... punished him._

"Soon as my neck is healed up," growled William. "I'm going to snap Winston's in two!"

"Why of course you will! And don't you dare forget all the others!" said the fat wolf sadistically, leaving the den and then turned back around. "Oh and by the way, the boss sent you a little something to help you heal quicker. Girls!"

At the call, two beautiful Timber wolf females entered the den, smiling at William affectionately.

"Have you two ever had the pleasure of sleeping with such a handsome yet deformed looking wolf? Well I think its about time!" chuckled the fat wolf, departing from the cave. "I can't wait to have this all over and done with."

Being alone with the two females they came up to William and began rubbing against him. Letting the girls continue the action of nuzzling him, he laid back on his side to let them lick his neck bite with their warm tongues. Slowly one of the females went lower and lower down all the way from his chest to his lower regions...

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**That's chapter 2 for ya. Reviews are greatly appreciated. I always return the favor.**


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